Hisham al-Hashimi


Husham al-Hashimi was an Iraqi historian and researcher in security and strategic affairs and extremist groups, and a specialist on the subject of the Islamic state and its supporters. He also was an advisor to the Iraqi government on counter-terrorism.

Biography

Al-Hashimi was born in 1973 in Baghdad. He became a historian and researcher in security and strategic affairs. He has been a follower of the Iraqi Islamic groups since 1997. He has worked in the field of modern and "jurisprudential" manuscripts, although his academic achievement was Bachelor of Economics and Administration - Statistics Department. He held a scientific degree in Hadith, and had an interest in the history of Al-Dhahabi. He was arrested and sentenced to prison by Saddam Hussein's regime, due to his affiliation with Salafi jihadism, then he was released from prison in 2002. After 2003, he went to work in the press, began writing reports and documents with foreign newspapers and channels, and began writing a blog about the map of armed groups in Iraq. On 1 July 2020, he published a report titled "The internal dispute within the Popular Mobilization Forces", his last work before his assassination.

Assassination

On 6 July 2020, he was seriously wounded outside his home in Zayouna, Baghdad by two unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle. He died in the nearby Ibn Al-Nafees hospital shortly after arrival.
He was buried at Wadi-us-Salaam, Al-Najaf, Iraq.

Aftermath

His death triggered a national uproar in Iraq and among the larger international community, leading to allegations accusing paramilitary groups such as Kata'ib Hezbollah and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, while the official investigation has not accused any group, and no group has claimed responsibility. However, Al-Hashimi has reportedly received direct death and kidnapping threats from members and commanders within Kata'ib Hezbollah and the Popular Mobilization Forces.

Works